• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to the Print Magazine
  • Advertise

Tasting Room Magazine

The magazine for people who love wine tasting

  • Home
  • About
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Articles
    • Tour
    • Taste
    • Travel
  • Wine Reviews
  • In the News
  • Special Sections
    • 2025 Top Winery Dogs We Love
    • 2025 Women of Washington Wine
    • 2025 Guide to Event & Wedding Venues
    • Top Wine Clubs of 2024-2025
  • Event Calendar

Liberty Lake Wine Cellars Finds New Energy Under New Ownership

October 5, 2018

Owners Mark and Sarah Lathrop of Liberty Lake Wine Cellars. The winery is located in Liberty Lake, a town off Interstate 90 in Eastern Washington.

Mark and Sarah Lathrop met in an MBA accounting class at Eastern Washington University and started dating. From that moment, most of their dates centered around wine. Dating eventually led to a wedding with a reception in a wine cellar. They both ended up in careers in finance helping to run small businesses.

Fast-forward to 2015, when the couple noticed that one of their favorite boutique wineries, Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, hadn’t participated in crush that year. “A simple email to ask what would happen to our beloved winery overlooking the lake led to discussions of a plan to purchase the winery and in January 2016 we were handed the keys,” says Sarah.

The enterprising young couple’s business plan included retaining the winery’s focus on big, bold reds from the Red Mountain AVA, but expanding beyond the current 500 case volume, adding white wines to the lineup, and moving the tasting room and production facility to a larger location.

With this goal in mind, they found a piece of land in the heart of Liberty Lake’s business district three miles from the old location. Here, they have built a 4,296-square-foot tasting room and production facility. They have enough space now to accommodate up to 3,000 cases a year.

Each of the red wines we sampled were head-turners—solidly built and powerful yet elegant.

Visit this newly energized winery at 23110 E Knox Ave, Liberty Lake; www.libertylakewinecellars.com

Here are 3 wines we recently reviewed:

Liberty Lake Wine Cellars 2012 Red Mountain Legacy Reserve, $35
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-95 pts
Suave and polished, this proprietary red wine gushes with dark red and black fruit flavors that gain traction from the firm, cedar-infused tannins and rich undertones of red currant, coconut shavings and tobacco leaf. Stays dense and complex through the long finish.

Liberty Lake Wine Cellars 2013 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, $33
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-95 pts.)
Aged 30 months in American oak, this version is smoothly structured, with top notes flavors and aromas of red currant and cherry balanced nicely with dark blackberry and underpinnings of pomegranate, coconut shavings and hints of dill. Expressive, approachable, and mouth-filling.

Liberty Lake Wine Cellars 2013 Red Mountain Tempranillo, $28
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-95 pts.)
Spice box, cocoa powder, violet and coconut flakes frame the core of rich, juicy black plum in this supple red wine, delivering solid structure and nice grip from the well-integrated tannins and crushed rock minerality that flow through the finish.

Primary Sidebar

CURRENT ISSUE

OUR WEB PARTNERS

RattlesnakeHills” width=

TsillanCellars” width=

Maryhill

“Wine

WINE REVIEWS

Reviews: Spring 2025

Sparkling Wines Are Bubbling Up in Washington

Taste Wines From Different Hemispheres at Dichotomy Vineyards

More Wine Reviews →

UPCOMING EVENTS

View Event Calendar by Month →
View Event Calendar by List →
View Event Calendar by Photo →

Footer

About the Magazine

Tasting Room® magazine is the ultimate authority on the Washington wine scene and your personal tour guide to wineries, vineyards, destinations and travel tips, and artisan foods, chefs and artists. In short, Tasting Room is a metaphor for life’s simple pleasures that pair remarkably well with wine—touring, food, travel, culture, recreation and people.

HOME
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSSTANDS
ADVERTISE
EVENTS
CONTACT

Search Tasting Room Magazine

Copyright © 2025 Washington Tasting Room Magazine